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When I tell people, especially other foreigners like me, what exactly I am working on as part of my European Voluntary Service (EVS) project, their faces drop. “Torture” is a heavy word. When I speak with locals about what I do, I am met with surprise and with the inevitable question “we have that in Moldova?”

We embraced this year’s IRCT slogan “Living life after torture” and called on friends, partners and people in general to drop by our Charity Yard Sale on 26 June and celebrate with us and our beneficiaries the strength and resilience of survivors of torture to live their lives with dignity after trauma. We were happy to count on the participation of Ms. Maia Bănărescu, Ombudsman for Children’s Rights of Republic of Moldova.

This event was a celebration: kudos to Elenore for the playlist choice!; some of us ventured into trying new things – such as henna tattoos made by one of our talented beneficiaries, an open-air gallery showcased the extraordinary paintings of another of our young gifted beneficiary. I had the privilege of wearing a beautiful Ie, the Romanian traditional blouse, crafted by experienced hands at our weekly Creative Arts Club “Dalia”.

The spirit of 26 June is one of celebration. The highlight of this campaign was, for me, the unraveling of the painting “From Horror to Healing” by Cesar Perales, an EVS volunteer from Spain working with Association Oberliht. This was a personal project that I implemented thanks to the support of RCTV Memoria staff and, of course, thanks to Cesar who kindly agreed to produce an artwork dedicated to rehabilitation. I am not a trained caregiver or an artist; this small project built a bridge between both, which resulted in a powerful tool for advocacy, communication and fundraising for RCTV Memoria. But, most of all, it stands as a symbol for what moves us all: hope, dreams, empathy, belief in the strength of the human spirit.

26 June campaign was supported by IRCT – International Council for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims. The project “From Horror to Healing” was supported by ADVIT – Europe without Borders.

By Margarida Hourmat,

EVS volunteer at RCTV Memoria